Introducing the Trans Book Buddy Program

Not all of our community can afford books....but that doesn't mean they don't need them! - Elliot Deline

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December 29, 2016

Not all of our community can afford books….but that doesn’t mean they don’t need them!

My name is Elliott Deline. I am the author of the novels Refuse, I Know Very Well How I Got My Name, Show Trans, and No Poster Boy: Trans Fag Essays. I was FTM Magazine’s readers’ choice, voted Author of the Year in 2015.
This month, ​I launched the Trans Book Buddy program to help get fairer distribution of my books to low-income transgender people like myself. My books are semi-autobiographical fiction about the experience of being a gay, queer, nonbinary female-to-male transgender millennial. My target audience is frequently telling me that my books have helped them, but many also tell me that they cannot afford them. Already, I have been able to get several free books to readers in need, some in isolated, rural areas. And in the wake of the current political climate, the gift is a much appreciated escape.
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A recent study shows that trans Americans are 4x as likely to have a household income below $10,000 a year (1). Another study found that “in the last 10 years, more than half of trans characters depicted on television were portrayed in a negative light, and even more were problematic in some sense.” (2)

This is why my and other trans writers’s work is so important for our community’s sense of worth and well-being. I have had many readers tell me that my books helped them through depression and suicidal periods of their life. The trans population has over a 40% rate of attempted suicide, compared to the 4% of the general population (3).
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Give the gift of trans representation!
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If you have the means, please consider donating to help keep this program running! $10 buys one book. Anything is appreciated and extremely helpful.